Notes and Editorial Reviews

The only other serious competition in this repertoire, and it’s not as complete as this release (the Aida items are missing), is an old Philips Due mostly conducted by the late Antonio de Almeida. Those are good performances, but they don’t outclass these, either interpretively or sonically. You might say that it doesn’t take much interpretive insight to conduct Italian ballet music, but ultimately the goal is always the same: to avoid boredom. This may be even harder in music whose purpose is largely decorative and expressively limited. It’s to Serebrier’s (and Verdi’s) credit that there isn’t a bar here that fails to entertain, or that doesn’t make an excellent case for believing that this musicRead more is of much higher quality than its reputation suggests.

The ballet from Aida is well known, of course, but that from Otello is a minor masterpiece in a strikingly similar vein. “The Four Seasons” ballet from I vespri siciliani is Verdi’s largest, lasting a solid half an hour, and it’s wonderfully performed here. It has moments that you might mistake for Delibes or Tchaikovsky. Don Carlos is also fully mature Verdi, while the ballet in Macbeth is pretty well known as it’s often included in modern performances of the opera (the witches’ waltz at the end is particularly fun). The two big “finds” for most listeners will be the extensive ballet music from Jérusalem (a.k.a. I lombardi), and the similarly large-scale (20 minutes) dance episodes from Il trovatore. This last item quotes the “gypsy” tunes from the opera’s first act, including the Anvil Chorus, and it’s really delightful. The sonics are clear and vivid, and with a playing time of nearly two hours, this set easily becomes the modern reference for this undervalued repertoire.

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review: ( 3 Customer Reviews )

A little disappointingMay 8, 2013By Robert Michonski (Cypress, TX)See All My Reviews"The performance was excellent, but the material let it down. Generally I like romantic music. I like to have a recognizable melody in the work. Except for the selections from Aida, Verdi's opera music was akin to the filler music placed in movings. There was nothing memorable."Report Abuse

Pull out your conductor's baton, this music will October 17, 2012By Suzanne M. (San Mateo, CA)See All My Reviews"When I was about 12 years old, my dad vowed to me that one day I would come to love three things: red wine, stinky cheese, and opera. He was right about the first two, not so much about opera. This CD is all the light, vibrant, memorable music of Verdi without the singing. I didnt realize until listening to it just how much of my favorite classical music is Verdi's...(and how much of Verdi appeared in Looney Tunes, which along with my dad, also informed my love of classical.)I am so glad that my local classical station KDFC featured this CD and brought it to my attention. Thank you!"Report Abuse

stunningMay 9, 2012By bernard w. (bronx, NY)See All My Reviews"i've played this a number of times. all, i can say is shame on the opera producers for not including it in teir performances."Report Abuse